Not Ready to Go
by AwkwardScenario813
Summary: (Sequel to How to Say Goodbye.) Namine finds herself in a new home awaiting when she will be able to see Demyx again... however, her aunt has hired a therapist for her, and she is put into a hypnosis where her memories of the only person she trusts are slowly fading. teamed up with her cousin and a boy under her aunt's care, she flees to try and find her love before its too late.


_(note: there is akuroku in this story. its mentioned a lot, but I am still sticking with Namine and Demyx's story- I just figured throw some Axel and Roxas in to keep you entertained. see bottom note for my other reasons.)_

Naminé

I woke up disoriented, not knowing where I was. Last thing I remember, I was in Demyx's room, leaning into his chest while he held my hands and watched a movie with me. Now I was... In a car?  
"What's going on?" I asked, still drowsy.  
"Oh, you're awake," my dad said.  
"Where are we going? Where's Demyx?"  
"Demyx is still at his house in Twilight Town. I'm taking you home," he said. 'Home.' The word echoed emptily through my head. Where was home, now? Was it at the apartment I went through hell in with Xigbar? Was it the apartment where I lived with mom until she died? Or did Dad have some kind of house or something he lives in?  
"Where is home?" I asked. The only REAL home I could think of now was wherever Demyx was. My hands flew to the little string around my neck. I pulled up the Superman ring and sighed with relief. It was still there.  
"Well, for you it's going to be with your uncle for a while so I can get our house set back up. You remember the GrassHouse? We have that back again," he said. The GrassHouse... I grew up there. I had called it the GrassHouse because it was on a grassy hill, just a few yards from Demyx's old front door... But he no longer lives there. Back all isolated on a hill where no one lives and the long grass was always golden.  
"Yeah... I remember," I said sadly. Honestly I spent more time remembering what Demyx and I had there once.  
"Don't be that way, Naminé. Someday, when you're older, you'll understand why some people are cruel like that. Your uncle is rich, so he can get you some help so you can forget what happened to you." 'I don't want to forget,' I thought. 'I want to go back. Back in time to stop us from ever moving in the first place. All it did was bring trouble down on me.' I stared out the window of the car, watching the road lights pass by, knowing every single one on my count was another bit of distance away from where I wanted to be.

I opened my eyes slowly to my dad closing the car door. I sat up as he came around and opened mine. I got out, tired and I knew that this rays of light barely showing over the horizon meant that sunrise was on the way. My dad closed the car door and I looked back to the large mansion before me. It was more a castle, really. My aunt was loaded. And she wasn't really my aunt. I mean, she WAS, but she was adopted into my dad's side, so I wasn't related to her at all except for that fact. I'm glad I'm not blood linked to that woman- sometimes I swear she has no heart. And she isn't that old, either. Aunt Larxene... Ugh. And my uncle? Just as weird.  
"Just so you know, they have kids about your age. Be sure to get along with them, okay?" my dad said. Then, the front door opened and my aunt showed herself in the doorway.  
"Naminé, Luxford! You made it!" she cheered. I could hear she sounded fake when she said my name. "You make any friends while you were in Twilight Town?" she asked me.  
"I met up with an old friend..." I trailed off.  
"Who was it?" she asked, leading me towards the front door to the huge mansion.  
"Demyx. Who else?" I asked. She knew he was the only person I was ever actually friends with. We kept all sorts of secrets, even some I remember to this day. Like when he told me about a secret box he had made and buried on the hill. He said he hid the map in the treehouse, probably his secret compartment, no doubt. We both found secret holes in the treehouse, claimed them, and hid things in them. He probably never found the love letter for him I had stashed back in there when I was eight. I wondered if it was still there, even.  
"Hmm... Odd name for a girl," she commented. She looked a little lost in thought, actually.  
"Demyx is a boy," I said.  
"Oh... Funny, I swear I... What does he look like?" she asked.  
"He has sort of a mullet-like hairstyle, a sort of thin face, green-blue eyes, tall, sort of muscular. He looks like he would be a runner but he plays basketball sometimes. Why?" I asked. She seemed awfully concerned about Demyx's appearance. She had sounded insistent when she asked me about his appearance. She just nodded to herself and 'hmmed'.  
"Well, we can take you shopping in a little while. You need a few more articles of clothing, I'm sure," she said. We were inside and walking down the large main hallway. This place was a nice place- the color white was everywhere! I looked at a few pedestals with roses carved into the top as we walked by. Then I noticed my aunt trying to say something.  
"... And just as a reminder, we do have some young people your age here. We take in a lot of fosters- only one is my actual child from my first husband. Marluaxia insisted he couldn't stay. He liked to teach, and he... Came out of the closet, leaving myself and Roxas on our own, but then I remarried and now look at us! Xemnas really is a great provider. His brother, Ansem is an excellent lawyer. I just wish Yuffie would get along better with Roxas. He and Yuffie's little sister Xion get along just fine, but still. And then we have three others. Xemnas's first wife was killed in a fire, leaving Sora without a mother. I think I am doing a pretty good job filling that role. And then the foster kids- Riku is a really smart boy. All these ideas are so fun to hear. Then there's the other one- Axel. I'd recommend you leave him to himself. He's a delinquent- caught shoplifting, attempting arson- you do not need to know that boy. So in all, we have seven teenagers living with us, including you. That's nine people total. And you know, we still have rooms open!" she rambled. I just stopped listening. Then, someone walked into the room.  
"... Specialist," I heard Larxene say. He had long blue hair and golden eyes. There were two scars that each went across his face in an 'X' over his nose.  
"Naminé, this is Siax, your therapist," she said. He waved and started to leave. "Go explore, I'm going to talk to another adult, now," she said, shoving me along a bit before walking away with Siax. I walked down the hall, not really knowing where I was going because it had been so long since I've seen this place. I walked down some stairs, turned several times and before I knew it I was lost. The power didn't seem too good here- half the lights were out and half of the working ones barely worked. I looked to the darkest corner. I swore I saw someone hidden in the shadows, but the lights flickered and whoever it was was gone.  
"Now, now... How did someone like you stumble into the basement?" a voice said, teasingly. It was male, and it was sort of one of those voices you would apply to someone who knows their way around people. I whirled around to the source of the sound, and squeaked at the sight of the extremely tall, bright red haired man behind me. He was smiling at me flirtatiously, but it immediately struck me as dangerous. He had bright, hypnotic green eyes, and two purple marks in the shape of upside down teardrops under his eyes. He was very thin- his waist gave his hips a feminine quality of curviness, but despite how slim he was, I could tell he was strong.  
"I-I'm s-sorry," I stuttered, barely able to speak. He seemed more like a force of nature than a person- beautiful, but dangerous.  
"What for? You haven't done anything," he said. He put his fists on those child-bearing hips and leaned over, his face getting very close. It was even more intimidating. He examined my face, his eyes trailed over me entirely, and then when he was done, he looked back to my eyes.  
"Who... Are you?" I asked. He sort of snorted and stood up straight. Then he crossed his arms.  
"I'm Riku," he said simply, waving his hand to me. "And who are you?"  
"I'm N-Naminé," I said. Larxene never told me Riku was... Kind of scary.  
"And what are you doing down here, doll?" he asked. He just called me doll.  
"I got lost..." I would let it slide this time.  
"And you got even more lost running towards the dark instead of away. It was a bad choice for you," he said, waving his finger at me... Just like Demyx had when he had chided me playfully for peeking. It alerted me that something might be up.  
"What are you doing down here?" I asked. If I could keep him talking someone might see us... Or not. Nobody would come down here.  
"Hiding from the Larx Ness Monster. You know why she adopts boys, right?" he asked, getting too close for comfort again.  
"N-no?" I stuttered.  
"Because she want some sort of plaything. Know why? Because her husband can't get off on anything but men's underwear. Caught him in my room once," he commented, standing up straight again and curling his finger to his upper lip.  
"Plaything?"  
"She can't get off on anything but a young, healthy guy. Been trying to find me for days. I'm the only one she persists to- she pretty much bought me. Sixty grand, can you believe that?"  
"Bought you?"  
"Mm-hmm. Not at all getting what she paid for. Hasn't gotten a glimpse of my... Since that day."  
"Your...?"  
"You shouldn't be concerned with that- you're only Roxas's age. I might tell you later," he said. "Right now you're just too young and innocent," he said, getting close again, but this time grabbing my chin and sort of squishing my face... Like Xigbar that night. I froze and started thrashing away from him, successfully getting my chin free. He didnt kiss me, he just freaked me out. Then, I turned to bolt but tripped over my feet after a few steps. I was crying, now.  
"Don't touch me!" I managed to say.  
"What's wrong?" he asked, walking over sort of like a model. He was standing over me before I knew it and he looked at my face from all the way up where his head was. His face turned to shock then and he dropped down on one knee. I was sitting up, now and he looked into my face with a pained expression that showed some pity.  
"Did she buy you, too?" he asked, like he had seen this kind of face before.  
"N-no- she's my aunt," I said. He moved a little closer.  
"Don't touch me!" I repeated, scooting back a bit.  
"I know what happened to you... You were in the trade, weren't you? You were merchandise? I know some people who were, and bad thing had happened to them. I was just lucky that I was just groped a few times but... Were you... Raped?" he asked.  
"Yes! Now just leave me alone!" I said.  
"You're lost, right? I'll help you to your room. The Dragon Lady's been setting it up all night," he offered.  
"I..." I hesitated. Should I trust him? Larxene said Axel was the only one I needed to worry about...  
"I won't hurt you," he promised. He held out his hand. I took it, and he stood up and pulled me to my feet as he did so.  
"So how did you get here?" he asked, walking. I had to walk really fast to keep up with him, but he was being really nice about it, now. Earlier, he was scaring me but now? He isn't that mean. I decided I would be friends with Riku- he was actually pretty nice and looked like he could take care of himself. And he might be able to keep me safe from Axel if I ran into him. I looked up and saw him looking at me expectantly with his bright, glowing green eyes. Then I remember he had asked me a question.  
"My dad is just preparing a house for me. You see, I came from Twilight Town, where I was living with my mom until she remarried and my stepdad... He hurt me... And I didn't want to leave, but my dad is taking me back to the house where I grew up. It won't be the same because my best friend doesn't live there, anymore. I left when I was little," I explained.  
"How do you know your friend isn't there if you haven't seen it?"  
"Because Demyx is in Twilight Town. It turns out he moved, too, and we met again, but then I had to leave... Again," I told him sadly.  
"And you really care about him, right?"  
"Yeah."  
"And I'm guessing you're in love with him... Right?"  
"Yeah... I don't know if it counts, but I have this ring," I said, pulling the Superman ring out of my dress. I heard him sort of gasp when I mentioned a ring.  
"He gave it to me when I was five and he was six, and he said he would marry me because he wanted to be best friends forever. And then, just earlier tonight, he told me he wanted to marry me for real when we were a little older. Then, two hours after that I started the long ride here. So I guess in a way I might be engaged but neither of our parents know about it. What do you think?"  
"I think he sounds really good for you. And that was a really cute story. And if you were asking if I would agree with your engagement theory, I'd say if he really did mean it then you are his fiancé."  
"He sounded like he meant it, and he looked like he meant it," I said. We stopped in front of a door.  
"Well, if I was this Demyx guy, and I knew a nice, pretty girl like you, I would've meant it, too, doll," he said, smiling.  
"Thanks, Riku." I smiled, turned and walked into the room. He turned to walk away. I watched him take a few steps, then he stopped and turned back to look at me, still smiling.  
"Enjoy your stay, doll. And my name's Axel," he said, then went back to walking away. I paused. Didn't he say his name was Riku? Then why did he... Then I realized.  
He lied.  
I turned back to my room and closed the door behind me. Axel might not have been a good person to trust. I went to my bed and lay down. Even though I slept pretty much the whole ride here I was exhausted. Technically, he said his name was Riku, so he tricked me but I shouldn't have given my life's story to someone who I just met. But he was so cool about it. He was already sort of like a friend. He was the one who opened up first, anyway. He was thrown into the sex trade, and sold just like Demyx almost was. Also, my aunt hated people who liked to think and act on their own. So who cares what she says, anyway? Axel may have been a delinquent. He might even have a record. So what? He is an individual, and a fairly nice one at that. It may be annoying when he calls me 'doll', but I didn't have any other reason to tell him not to.

I woke up the next morning to the feel of eyes watching me. I opened my eyes and quickly saw the eyes I had felt.  
"Axel!" I squeaked.  
"Shh. I'm not being nasty. Just here bearing some breakfast. She tries to make me eat a lot, but she gives me too much to finish, so I thought if I shared it would be okay. She kind of forgot you were here..."  
"Who is... Oh, right. My aunt," I said, not being able to help but make a face. So we ate a while, him telling me stuff about the other people in the house.  
"Sora is always up in everyone's business trying to bully the house rules around this way and that, Xion is really quiet, sort of emo girl- Roxas gets along with her just fine," he said, and I could hear an undertone of jealousy. "Yuffie is just a little older than Roxas and Xion, really optimistic and a spaz, and she and Roxas don't get along all that great. Then there's the real Riku, and he is like one of those sort of jack of all trades- he can play big brother, lift some heavy stuff and he's pretty smart. And then there's Roxas," he said, his voice sort of taking on a far off quality. "He is the only one besides you who I really get along with. Sometimes, I think I'm more optimistic than he likes, but he still hangs out with me. Of course, I have no idea where he is but it's a bit of a relief to know Xion isn't with him. Roxas has blonde hair, blue eyes like yours, about your height, and he really likes this ice cream," he said, gesturing to the blue he had been holding that I had never noticed. He bit off a piece and sort of let it melt in his mouth, I guess.  
"What flavor is that?" I asked. I had never really seen anything like that before.  
"Sea salt. It tastes like beaches."  
"Beaches?" I asked skeptically. How could an ice cream taste like a beach?  
"Yeah. Here, try some," he said, holding it out to me. I took it nervously. He watched me expectantly, but I didn't know if it was weird to share something this way or if it was normal. He didn't seem to mind... I took a little nibble off the other side. As soon as it melted on my tongue, I immediately thought of beaches. It was sweet, salty, and it had this blast combination of flavors that somehow tasted like sunshine, warm sand, beach air and beach water- but all clean and pure and wonderful. Like the beach of a god. He looked amused at my expression and waved his hand for me to keep eating.  
"Are you sure? I mean, it is yours," I responded.  
"It's fine- there's more where that came from. You really seemed to like it, so you can have it," he insisted. I looked back to the ice cream and began to eat again. By the time I was done with it, I was full and saw Axel's face was looking at me, full of thought.  
"So why did you tell me you were Riku when you're Axel?"  
"Huh? Oh. I heard her saying that you should stay away from me, so I said that just to talk to you."  
"Why me?"  
"Because I was thinking if since you were a girl, you and Roxas and I could hang out. I don't really like Xion, and she's all up in our business, so maybe you could replace her?"  
"Axel, you seem to like Roxas a lot... What's up with that?"  
"Nothing. Nothing at all." He got up. "Keep an eye on your therapist. He might do something bad... And you won't like it." Then, he left. After a few minutes, Siax showed up. Then he told me to close my eyes and relax. He got me so relaxed, even, that I fell asleep.  
'You will forget why you are sad...'  
"But I don't want to. I might forget him," I responded to a soothing voice.  
'But you ought to forget him. He hurt you...'  
"Demyx didn't hurt me. Xigbar did."  
'But Demyx is making you sad, right?'  
"Yes. I miss him."  
'And you need to forget him or you won't be happy. You have a feeling you won't see him again. Why waste away for someone who might forget you?'  
"Because he won't."  
'When you hear me snap you will begin to forget him, and who hurt you. Only he can give his memories back. Do you understand?'  
"Yes, but I don't want to forget Demyx. I love him."  
'You just like feeling like that. You ought to move on, Naminé. If you do see him, you'll remember if he can kindle your mind. But I can't help you through your shock if you're focusing on him, okay?'  
"But..."  
'You will begin to forget and open your eyes, now!' Snap. And I opened my eyes to see Siax standing over me.  
"The session is over. You can do what you want, now, Naminé," he said. Then he left. I went out to find Axel. I needed to talk to him. I hurried out of my bedroom door and collided with someone.  
"Hey, watch it!" he shouted. I looked over to a guy who had been carrying two baskets of folded laundry, both on piles of now overturned clothes. He had really spiky blonde hair that sort of swished off to one side, deep, sapphire blue eyes like mine and he looked sort of angry. He looked at me and his expression lightened. He had tan cargo pants on, and a loose grey t-shirt on. He had black tennis shoes, a checkered wristband and two rings- a black ring and a white one. He was rubbing his head.  
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize-"  
"Sorry," he said. Our words just sort of mixed up because we were both talking at the same time.  
"I was just looking for..."  
"I couldn't see where I was going because-" he said and stopped when he saw the overturned baskets.  
"Ahh! Sora's gonna KILL me!" he exclaimed and hurried to get them back into the baskets. He hastily folded the ones that had come undone and I inched over to help. When we were done he lifted one basket onto his hip and offered me his hand, a little embarrassed.  
"Sorry about that," he said, helping me up. "I'm Roxas," he said once I was on my feet. He leaned over to get the other basket and I reached down and picked it up.  
"Here, lemme help you with that," I said. He shifted his basket back up into his hip. "I'm Naminé, by the way."  
"Oh, right- Uncle Luxford's kid. I don't think we've met."  
"Shame it had to be like this," I said. "I'm not usually this clumsy."  
"Yeah," he allowed. "I gotta get these to the room where we sort the laundry- we take our clothes and stuff down there and sort out who's is who's and it's my day to sort. You know you don't have to help, right?"  
"Yeah, but I feel bad about running into you so consider it an apology favor," I said. Then we started to walk down the hall.  
"So who were you looking for, anyway?" he asked.  
"Oh... I was going to go find Axel," I said. Roxas sort of looked down.  
"Axel, huh?"  
"I had just gotten finished with a session I had with my therapist and I needed to talk to him. So far he's my only friend here."  
"Yeah... What do you two talk about?"  
"I only got here about...six in the morning? So not a whole lot. We just talked about how we ended up here."  
"Yeah... Mom told me why you were here, and Axel sort of just showed up about seven years ago. He's about twenty five, and he still hangs around here. He says he's just here to help keep an eye on things, but I think my mom pays him to babysit me. She doesn't trust me at all," he said a little sadly.  
"I hear you two are really good friends," I said optimistically.  
"Where did you hear that?"  
"Axel told me."  
"He's a liar. He's always asking me favors when I'm hanging around with Xion, and he never seems to need anything at any other time. We were friends until Yuffie showed up with her little sister. Then he started trying to bring Yuffie into our group. But I never liked Yuffie all that much and I saw Xion all alone, so I tried to get her in. We've been spacing ever since. Well, I have, but that's because he's actually getting annoying. If he would just tell me what's wrong... I mean, if you were him you would, right? I am his best friend. Or maybe he just wants me to think that."  
"I guess I would tell you that," I said. Axel lie No. 2- he and Roxas aren't as good friends as he said.  
"See? I don't understand him anymore." We reached the room and we sorted clothes. Then he took his pile and carried them a little farther down the hall. I followed him and saw his room. It was all black and white, really modern-looking, and he... Had a race car bed. It was dark red with two streaks of fire on the sides. The comforter inside was black and white checkered and the white sheets and light blue pillowcase gave it a really cool touch. Like, his whole room was checkered black and white, except for the furniture- it was just black. And the closet doors where white. The ceiling mirrored the floor's design. Then I realized it was because the ceiling WAS a mirror.  
"Whoa," I commented.  
"I know. Mom let me design it myself."  
"You picked out every aspect of the room?"  
"Mm-hmm." He was putting the rest of the clothes away. He hung some up in the closet and put the rest in cubbies mounted on the wall inside. He was really organized.  
"This place is so clean," I commented.  
"Yeah. Sora would kick my ass if I left something out of place."  
"Hmm... I have a feeling you might not like him."  
"Sora? He's alright- just annoying as hell."  
"Oh."  
"So you need some help finding Axel? I know where he'll probably be."  
"I don't really NEED help, but it would be nice to have some," I said.  
"Alright. Follow me," he said. He was a little drawn back when he talked about Axel.  
"So... Are you mad at him?"  
"Axel? No. He just flirts too much for his own good. Yuffie, then you, and some of the college girls that walk past the school when he picks me up in the afternoon."  
"Are... Are you jealous?" I asked. I sort of picked up on that tone there.  
"No! It's just annoying, that's all." Then some really loud music started up as we got back into the hallway. He walked over to a door covered in signs that said 'No Tresspassing' and 'I Gots Mad Ninja Skills and I Can Use 'Em'. Then there was some police line tape in an 'X' on the door. Roxas banged on it.  
"Yuffie, turn that shit down! You know I HATE Deforestation!" he yelled. The door opened and there was a girl with dark eyes, dark hair, short shorts, thigh socks, and a tank top on. She was just a bit taller than Roxas.  
"Just because YOU hate the band doesn't mean you can bug me about it," Yuffie said.  
"No, but I can hear you from my room."  
"Duh. It's right next door. Besides- you ate the last piece of pie this morning when you KNOW I had dibs."  
"Don't bring up the pie again..."  
"And while I'm on the subject of my things, there was this other time when you hung my favorite shirt from the flag pole outside!"  
"You pushed me down the stairs!"  
"Because you ate my pie that morning, TOO!"  
"Forget that I even said anything!" I spied another tricked out door down the hallway while Roxas and Yuffie bickered. It had Screaming Eagles posters, police line tape, 'Do Not Enter' signs, and some bumper stickers on it.  
"Is that Axel's room?" I asked, tugging on Roxas's sleeve. He got distracted from his argument with Yuffie.  
"Huh? Oh. Yeah. That's his room. How'd you tell?"  
"It sort of fits what I'd expect of him," I said simply. Then I hear a slam and Roxas shouted out and held his foot, swearing.  
"You okay?" I asked.  
"Yeah. Yuffie slammed the door on my foot, that's all. I'll get her back. Just eat another piece of pie- that gets her good."  
"Isn't that what started this?"  
"Yeah, but she still hates it. Come on," he said, walking to Axel's door. He knocked on the door.  
"He might not be here, but I know where else he'd be if not," Roxas said.  
"I heard some other music that didn't sound like Deforestation..." I said, remembering hearing a back tone of Screaming Eagles, too. I still heard it now, louder than before. Then I heard someone singing along to it.  
"Editing our life is like  
Playing with the Devil;  
Ya got stuff, that you need,  
And when you lose it, you're in trouble, OHHHHH!  
Fight me, right me, make me feel wrong!  
Take your clothes off,  
Let me on, for the ride of your LLLIIIIIIIFFFFE!  
Let me take you over, abduct you, and suck your-"  
"AXEL OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!" Roxas shouted, interrupting. A split second later I heard a latch being undone.  
"Roxas! Naminé! What brings you to the fiery side of the hall?" Axel was shirtless with some low-riding black skinny jeans. He had a seasalt ice-cream in his hand, and it was melting a little on his hand, so I assumed he was using it as a mike to sing his mini-concert.  
"She was looking for you." Roxas grabbed my shoulders and steered me in front of him like a shield.  
"Oh. You guys want some ice cream? I was about to start playing online with Wipeout03 and Stringstrummer46 on my RedPyramid 2. Wanna play? They keep asking if ChestCheckers2 is gonna be on and they really miss you, Roxas."  
"Sure... I kind of missed them, too. What are we playing this time?"  
"Witch Hunter 4. You can watch if you want, Nams. Or if you want an account I got another controller," Axel offered.  
"Sure. Who's Wipeout and Stringstrummer?" I asked.  
"They're some guys we met online. Don't know 'em but they're really fun to play with. We've been a team ever since. Stringstrummer's been MIA for the past six days," Axel informed me.  
"What's MIA?" I asked.  
"Missing in Action," they said together.  
"It's a term we use for the players that don't show up," Roxas explained. So they gave me a headset and a controller, gave me the basics on how to play and helped me make an avatar. In this game, you set out to find people who are witches or just anything like zombies, werewolves, or vampires. I quickly discovered you can't outrun anything but the zombies, and that if you didn't use the specialized weapon for the right type of creature they'd kill you first, and your teammates had to bust you out of the monster's den. I also learned you can talk through the headset, because I heard Axel carrying a conversation with Wipeout over it.  
"So I was playing multiplayer with Stringstrummer half an hour ago and found the Sorcerer's Gem behind a log in Dutville, east side of the map, left side of the path between the town and the pig farm. Since you're the leader, you have to be the one to get it and equip it to the group. I see you have a new player- OmNamNom? Who's that?"  
"She's a new friend of ours. OmNamNom- say hi to Wipeout," Axel instructed.  
"Hi, uh, Wipeout," I said shyly.  
"Hey, OmNamNom," he said.  
"She sounds kinda familiar," Stringstrummer said. It was the first time I heard him. He sounded a little familiar, too.  
"Do I know you?" I asked.  
"I think so... What's your name?" he asked. Roxas motioned for me to not tell him. He covered his mouthpiece.  
"They may be cool, but we can never be to sure they aren't pedophiles or something," he whispered so they couldn't hear him.  
"OmNamNom," I said. Roxas gave a thumbs up and went back to playing. Stringstrummer sounded like someone I know, but I couldn't match the voice to a face.  
"Well, just so you know I'm Zexion," Wipeout said. "I think we've played enough I don't care if you know my name, pedos or not."  
"Yeah. And I'm-" Stringstrummer said before a witch horde cut him off. By the time they were gone, he was nowhere to be seen.  
"Aw, shit! He got witchnapped!" Wipeout said. I knew Wipeout/Zexion. He went to school with Demyx. I remembered him clearly, but when I tried to think of Demyx, his face wasn't right somehow. Like I'd forgotten something important. The way he smiles? The color of his eyes? Oh, god- what color were his eyes? Brown? Gold? And didn't he have brown hair?  
"I can't play anymore," I whispered and took off the headset. I exited my controller and left the room.  
"Hey, doll- what's the matter?" Axel said, stopping me outside the door. Then I remembered why I came to see him in the first place.  
"The therapist- he hypnotized me and now I'm forgetting Demyx and Xigbar! I don't care for Xigbar, but the memory and my ring are all that I have of Demyx!"  
"Rrgh... I knew she was up to something. She was being all secretive and quiet when she was talking to him. We can't let you forget. It will be harder to reach him if he becomes a stranger..."  
"Reach?" I asked.  
"When you love someone, you'll do anything to be close to them. That's reach. You can't reach someone you don't know. And if you forget him you have nothing to reach for."  
"I get it. How can I get there? I'll do anything!" I insisted.  
"I'll think about how we should do this. Don't look for me- I'll find you when I'm done. Can you tell me what he looks like?" he asked.  
"He is... Sort of... He's tall... And thin... And... I can't think of what else!" I started freaking out.  
"Don't worry, I'll think of something. And fast- my brain just works that way. Got it memorized?" he asked.  
"Yeah," I nodded. I heard some swearing in the other room.  
"Good. You should go back to your room and wait for me and Roxas. I'm gonna go get him before he breaks my console," he said and went back inside. I peeked around the doorway.  
"Come on, Roxas! Let go of the remote-"  
"This boss is such a bitch!"  
"I know that, but... You... Need... To... Let...GO!" Axel pulled the controller from Roxas's hands.  
"Aww, Axel!" Roxas protested.  
"You're about to break something. We can work on beating it later- right now there's a bit of a problem, and I kind of need you to clear out."  
"Problem? You're gonna tell me what's wrong, right? Because you never do anymore... I thought we were best friends."  
"Best friends... I don't know, Roxas. I need some time... I don't think I'll tell you this time, either."  
"...Fine. I see what's going on. You don't want me around because you want all eyes on you. I should have expected this sort of thing from an attention hog!" I started running around the nearest corner because I saw Roxas getting up. I looked back and saw Roxas storming out of Axel's room. Then Axel caught his arm. Roxas tried to twist away but Axel just spun him around.  
"Roxas..." he said, hurt.  
"You never tell me anything anymore. So just forget it. Let me go."  
"I will tell you, but now isn't the best time."  
"It's never a good time for you, anymore," Roxas said and jerked his arm out of Axel's grip. He went across the hall and into his room. He slammed his door, then Axel looked down and went back into his room. I realized I had no idea how to get back to my room. Who should I ask? Roxas seemed really mad, and I didn't want him angrier at Axel, but Axel might be more friendly about giving me directions. I walked to Roxas's door and was about to knock when I heard something that sounded like a frustrated, muffled scream. He was cussing out into a pillow, I guessed. Then I heard a thick thunk like someone punching a wall. So I walked down the hall a little ways to Axel's room. I heard something like clothes being tossed around. I knocked, but it continued. He might not have heard me. I opened the door and found him cramming a backpack with some clothes. He had a shirt on, now. A loose, blue shirt with some sunglasses hanging off the front of the neck. It was about seven at night, so dinner should be ready any minute. I didn't understand the sunglasses.  
"What are you doing?" I asked. He looked up.  
"I got an idea. We'll just run for it- take my car."  
"You have a car?"  
"Yes."  
"Wait- run?"  
"You want to go back to Demyx, right? I'll take you there. You don't have anything you need to pack, anyway." He zipped the backpack and slung it over his shoulder. He smiled at me, but his eyes still showed some pain. Then he grabbed my wrist and started running down the hall.  
"Axel, what are you doing?!" I asked.  
"You miss him, don't you?"  
"Yeah, but-"  
"I'm going to help you get back to him."  
"Why?"  
"I know how it feels to love someone you can't reach. But I can help you reach farther!" I was silent then. Who could he be talking about? Now he was smiling, and he looked a little bit happier. We went through a door, and it was dark in here. I heard a car door open and he practically threw me in. He shoved his bag into my arms and the door shut. I realized I was in a car. It smelled like Axel's room- it was some kind of body spray stuff that made you think of molten metal, fire sparks, and male models. It was a really weird smell that you couldn't help but like. Axel got into the car and started it. He hit a button on the dashboard and the garage door started to open. As soon as it was wide enough to go through, Axel shifted into reverse and pulled out, spun around and took off down the highway.  
"If you don't mind me asking, who is it you can't reach?"  
"I don't think I can tell you that. My affairs are my own business." Then I realized something. He said that the way he said it to Roxas. And I noticed when he said it, he sounded a little sadder. And the way he talked about Roxas. And the way he tried to keep Roxas away from Xion, and how jealous he got when he talked about her.  
"Axel, before I'll feel comfortable with this halfway kidnapping, I need you to tell me. I'm not Roxas, so you shouldn't be scared to tell me."  
"... Alright. But firstly, I'm not kidnapping you. You're going willingly. And secondly, I don't want you to judge me. You can, but keep your comments to yourself." He took a deep breath. "I'm gay."  
"Axel..."  
"No. I'm not finished. I love Roxas, too. That's why I hate Xion- 1.) she's a total cockblock. 2.) the way Roxas is always paying attention to just her. And 3.) she shows him no interest whatsoever and she's still intriguing to him. I don't fucking get it. He has no idea. I'm scared to tell him- I don't want him to freak out and stop talking to me. That would defeat the purpose of me trying to get him to like me. I just want him to know. And then, on top of that there's the age difference."  
"Axel, take me back."  
"What?"  
"I said, take me back. I want you to take me back to the mansion. I need something."  
"What could you possibly need?" I thought quickly. How could I...?  
"I need my tampon bag," I lied.  
"Oh! S-sorry! I... I forgot you girls... Did that thing..." he trailed off, whirling the car around. He stopped in the driveway. "Need some help getting back to your room?"  
"No. I don't want you to see all my girl things," I said. He sat back in the seat and I handed him his backpack. I got out and ran into the house. I ran into someone when I got into the main hall. He had silvery hair, aquamarine eyes, and a surprised expression when I collided with his chest.  
"You okay?" he asked.  
"Yeah... Where's Roxas's room?" I asked.  
"I'll take you there, um... What's your name?"  
"Naminé. You must be Riku," I said.  
"Yeah... How did you...?"  
"Don't ask, just take me to his room," I insisted.  
"Okayyyy... Come with me." He led me down a few halls and I saw Yuffie's door. I went to the one next to it.  
"Thank you, bye!" I said quickly, dashing inside and closing the door. I looked around... Backpack, backpack... There! I ran over there and grabbed it. It was checkered like his room, so I went to the closet and threw some pants and shirts and some boxers into them. Ewww... Boy's underwear. I wrote something on a slip of paper and set it on his pillow. I slung the bag onto my shoulder and sat down on the bed.  
"Where did he go?" Roxas said, walking inside. He was probably looking for Axel. "Naminé! Have you seen Axel? I need to tell him something."  
"Yes. Come with me. Close your eyes, and don't ask."  
"Why...?"  
"No questions. Just follow me." I took his hand and backtracked successfully to the front door. I opened the car, Axel staring at me like, 'what the hell are you doing?'  
"Get in," I told him. Roxas got in and I handed him the bag.  
"What's this?" he asked, looking at the back.  
"Naminé, that is a lot of... Girl stuff?" Axel said.  
"Drive, please," I said urgently.  
"Axel? What's going on?" Roxas asked.  
"Go, Axel!" I insisted.  
"But why is he-" Axel began.  
"Everyone stop asking questions just DRIVE! Please!" Axel looked taken aback at my outburst and Roxas stared. He shifted into reverse and pulled out.  
"I guess I see why you needed to go back... That is a very large bag of hygiene products, though..." Axel commented.  
"Where are you taking me?" Roxas asked.  
"For a drive," I said. "Axel was just telling me about his car so I said, 'Roxas seems to like cars. He has a bed that looks like one. We should take him for a drive,'" I lied.  
"What's in here, anyway?" he asked, unzipping his backpack. He pulled out a pair of his underwear. And then a shirt.  
"These are my clothes," he said.  
"Naminé?" Axel asked.  
"What the hell?" Roxas asked.  
"This needs a good explanation. I have one for both of you, but I won't tell you a thing until we are out of town."  
"I don't see the point of using me to help abduct Roxas..." Axel said, looking at the road.  
"That's it, I'm getting out of here," Roxas said, reaching for the handle. I hit the lock doors button on my door. The click made Roxas jump. Axel sped up.  
"Axel, let me out. She's crazy!" Roxas said.  
"I'm not crazy, I promised I'll explain but until then just be quiet, please." I was beginning to question my decision. The rest of the drive was quiet. We drove for about four hours, then I told Axel to stop at a motel. We were two towns away from the mansion, so we were safe enough. And the note I had written would buy us some time. 'Went out with some of the others. Later, Roxas.' I didn't care if my writing didn't look like Roxas's. It would do for now. Axel got us a room with his money. Apparently, he had been working a job at Burger King for the past five years. I steered both of them into the room, Roxas staying quiet. Axel looked a little nervous. We got into the cheap room, and there were only two beds.  
"Who's gonna bunk where?" Roxas asked, obviously wondering who'd share.  
"You and Axel get one, I'll get the other. Now, sit down there," I ordered, pointing to their bed.  
"Why do we have to...?" Roxas asked, sitting down and looking at Axel awkwardly. I locked the door and made sure the curtains were drawn.  
"Axel, stay quiet for a minute. Roxas, Axel told me something earlier." Axel looked at me in horror. "So I'm going to tell you so he can reach farther than he would on his own. He should think of it as a favor because he is doing me a huge one. Roxas... The reason Axel won't tell you what's going on is because he's afraid of your reaction. Do you promise you won't freak out?"  
"Umm... That kind of depends?" he said. "But I'll be good this time."  
"Roxas... Axel's gay. And he likes you."  
"Whaaaaaa?!" Roxas said, freaking out. Axel just looked down.  
"Why the fuck did you tell him, Nams?" he said quietly.  
"Axel... I had no idea..." Roxas said, seeing how sad Axel was that he had flipped out.  
"I was afraid you'd react like that. That is why I never told you."  
"Axel... Is that why you hate Xion?"  
"... Yes..." Axel admitted.  
"This might surprise you, but... I was intending for that..."  
"What?" Axel asked, looking up. I just sat quietly and watched. This was working out perfectly.  
"Yeah... I just wished you'd told me sooner."  
"What... What do you mean?"  
"I mean the only reason I hung out with her was to make you jealous."  
"Why?"  
"Because I hated when you would flirt with all those girls. I wanted you to be like that with me."  
"Huh?"  
"It made me jealous to see you flirt with them... And I couldn't have that. So I hung out with Xion to make you jealous. I would have told you how much I liked you if you had just told me you hated her."  
"So that's why? If you had told me you didn't like it, I wouldn't have flirted. I only did that to keep you from suspecting anything..."  
"Axel, I just wanted you to notice me. It's why I'd walk around without a shirt, and I'd hear you start doing one of those little singing things, and I'd listen and pretend that you were singing to me."  
"I sing Screaming Eagles' most perverted songs to get you to notice me. And I always did it shirtless hoping you'd come in and see..."  
"Axel, I'd try to avoid you being shirtless because I didn't want you to see if I..." he hesitated when he remembered I was still in the room.  
"Waiit... I turned you on?" Axel asked, half smiling, not caring I was there.  
"Uhh... Yeah..."  
"Ignore me. I'm here to make sure it doesn't get out of control."  
"I would actually sit in the equipment closet with the vents in the doors... Nobody used anything in there, so I would go in there at noon just before you'd go into the gym room... I'd... I'd... I'd... Jerk off... While I watched you work out," Roxas admitted, getting quiet in the worst part of the confession.  
"Roxas," he said, shocked.  
"I'm sorry, you were just so-" Roxas started. He was cut off when Axel suddenly grabbed his face and pulled it to his. I got up, nodded to show it was fine and I went outside. I stood on the balcony outside for a few minutes, and I had a feeling this would go on for a while. So I went downstairs to the pool. Nobody was swimming, and the lights were on, so I knew it wasn't closed. I kicked off my shoes and took off my dress. Honestly, I didn't care if people saw me in my bra and underwear- I've seen other girls in bikinis that almost showed their privates, so this was no big deal. I would give them an hour. I swam for a while. I couldn't tell how long it had been, but someone walked to the edge of the pool.  
"It's alright to come back," he said. I looked over and saw Axel. He had a loose shirt on and his skinny jeans he was wearing earlier today.  
"Oh... I think I might swim a little longer. The water's nice and Demyx loved swimming," I said.  
"Where did you get a swimsuit?" he asked.  
"It's actually just my underwear..."  
"Oh... Well, if you're doing it, I guess I could join you. A swim does sound nice," he said. He took off his shirt and pants. He stepped into the water, wearing only his boxers.  
"So is everything okay with you guys?"  
"Yeah... He really surprised me... I mean, I would've never expected that from him... Oh, and thanks."  
"Huh? Why?"  
"You got us to clear everything up. You helped me reach him, Nams. I owe you," he said.  
"You don't owe me. I was helping you for helping me."  
"Yeah... Regardless, I hope you were okay with it... I mean, you left to give us some privacy and I thank you for that, too, but I just feel sort of bad."  
"You didn't do it on my bed, did you?"  
"No..."  
"Then it's fine with me."  
"It won't be for others... I would get in so much trouble if anyone found out I sodomized a fifteen year old boy..."  
"Axel- I don't need details. You did what you needed to, and as long as Roxas was alright with it, everything will be fine." He swam over to me and hugged me.  
"Thank you so much. You saved my relationship, Naminé. Now let's go inside before we get caught swimming in our underpants." We got out, put on our clothes and went back into the room.  
"Sorry... Everything just came off in a hurry..." he said quietly. I noticed Roxas's clothes strewn everywhere, Roxas himself asleep on his and Axel's bed, facing away from us, all the sheets sort of messed up but covering anything I could go without seeing. I could feel my wet underwear soaking through my dress, so I grabbed some of Roxas's clothes from his backpack and took a shower. I had to wear boxers, a loose t-shirt, and some pants that were all supposed to be for boys. The pants were a little big, but I was so glad I had taken so much out of Roxas's closet. When I came out, Axel was waiting.  
"You know, you don't look half bad in those clothes," he commented, then slipped into the bathroom. I looked over at Roxas. I had to admit, the guy looked cute when he was sleeping. And the best part was he finally belonged to someone who loved him. Just like I would be if I hadn't had to move. Roxas started to stir.  
"Huh? What... Naminé!" he squeaked, noting my presence and sitting up immediately. "When did you...?"  
"I just got in about fifteen minutes ago..." I checked the clock. "You've been asleep for about an hour, I guess."  
"I'm so sorry- you didn't see anything, did you?"  
"No. I just finished swimming and a shower, so I'm good. I hope you don't mind me borrowing some clothes... I even had to take some underpants. I hope that was okay..."  
"No, it's fine. Where's Axel?"  
"In the shower."  
"I ought to take one, too, I guess..."  
"So I hope you don't mind me asking, but... How was it?"  
"What?"  
"I know what happened up here. I don't want anything detailed, but just how it was. Like, was it good or bad? I was curious..."  
"Well... Um... It sort of hurt at first, but it's a good kind of pain. So I guess it was good. I liked it. Why'd you wanna know?"  
"I was just wondering... I know it will be different for me, but I actually want to know what to expect from my first time with someone I actually care about. You see, I don't have a virginity anymore... I... Was raped by my stepdad. It hurt, and I didn't like it one bit. Before I had to leave Twilight Town, I wanted to try with Demyx so I'd know I belonged to him like that before I left, and I wanted to see if I could get a positive memory from intimacy, but he said no... I was actually sort of glad he did say it, because I was scared it would be like what happened with... But if you say so, I guess it's different when you have feelings for the person you're with. Right?"  
"Yeah... That's... That's just awful! I would've never guessed... I mean, who could do that to somebody?"  
"A very nasty person. And you're really lucky. Axel really cares about you."  
"I know... When it was over he just sort of kissed my forehead. I was worn out, and I went to sleep after that. It was... Just mind-blowing."  
"Well, good luck to the both of you."  
"Thanks... You saved my friendship with Axel, and you even molded it into something better and even more special. All I have to offer you is my thanks. I'd really like to give you something else, but I don't really have anything else to give."  
"Just let me borrow your clothes then. It's the least you can do, and I'm perfectly fine with it." Axel came out of the bathroom, fully dressed, then.  
"Roxas, you're awake!" he said, smiling. Roxas smiled back nervously. I lay down in my bed and turned away so I could avoid seeing a naked Roxas dart to the shower and also so that I could sleep.  
"Okay, I'm in the shower. Axel, could you bring me some clothes?" I heard Roxas say, muffled by a door. As I closed my eyes, I heard a bag unzip, clothes be pulled out, a door open, clothes, a door shut, and then someone breathing close to my ear.  
"Goodnight, Naminé. I'm glad I met you, and even if it was only two days ago, I still feel like we've known each other for years. You, doll, are like the perfect little sister I never had. And for that, I love you," he whispered, then kissed my forehead. Then I heard the springs creak as someone lay down on the next bed. I thought about it, and even though it was a little weird I was in the same room as two guys who just had sex not that much over an hour ago, I felt a little at home. But something wasn't right. Someone needed to be in this picture. I needed to share my bed with someone I loved, too. I felt the ring on my chest. That person had used this ring to propose a technical marriage to me. But what was his name? I got up and looked around. The room was dark and Axel and Roxas weren't here. There was a shadow in the corner. I went towards him, but every step I took, the corner of the room stretched three more. 'Naminé,' the voice said. And oddly, it sounded like Stringstrummer, but clearer. I realized then why I recognized it. It belonged to someone- the person that gave me the ring.  
"Wait!" I shouted, and sat up. I was back in the room, Axel and Roxas in the other bed. I guess Axel was saying something inappropriate to Roxas because of the way they were positioned. Axel was laying on his side, his body facing Roxas, fingers on Roxas's arm. Roxas was sitting up, facing Axel, but both were looking at me, now.  
"You okay, Nams?" Axel asked. I noticed he never called me doll when Roxas was within earshot.  
"Yeah, just... A nightmare," I said. I knew I couldn't sleep for a while. Then I saw it was about six in the morning. I turned the tv on to keep my mind from racing. I didn't want to think about the meaning of that dream. It was the news, and I saw a home I recognized. It was Aunt Larxene's mansion. And she was being interviewed. Roxas crawled to the edge of the bed, in confused interest. Axel sat next to him, and I stood in the middle of the room.  
"And do you know what happened?" the news reporter asked.  
"I got the gist of it. This man, Axel- he was always a little unstable, he has a record, and I just know he kidnapped my son and my niece. I told her to watch out for him!" she sobbed.  
"Why do you think he took them?"  
"The money- he has ALWAYS wanted my money. I'm fairly wealthy- that had to have been the reason!"  
"The search is on. The suspect, known as 'Axel', is said to have a record and is possibly dangerous. He has two fifteen year olds in his control. Both children are blonde with blue eyes, one is male the other female. If you have any information, call in to-" I turned the tv off when they showed our pictures.  
"They think I'm some sort of molester or abductor!" Axel said.  
"I went with you willingly. If anyone is an abductor, it's me because I tricked Roxas into coming," I said.  
"I came willingly when I thought you had Axel," Roxas said.  
"We gotta get out of here," I said. "We can check in at motels about ten at night, keep up with the story, see if they're onto us," I continued, packing everything up.  
"Yeah. I got a record, anyway- it doesn't matter. But... You won't let me go to jail for it, right?" Axel asked.  
"I'll do everything in my power to keep you out of someplace like that," I said.  
"Me, too," Roxas said, hugging him. Axel stroked his head and smiled at him fondly. Roxas released him and helped me pack up. Then we grabbed our stuff and we rushed to the car. I got into the front seat, Axel the driver's, and Roxas the back seat. Then Axel pulled out of the parking lot and drove east.  
"Remind me, Nams- where does this Demyx guy live?" Axel asked.  
"Umm..." I said, in thought. "I... I can't remember!" I shouted, freaking out. The memory of his face was so blurred I couldn't even describe him. Now what?!  
"I might... It was... Something 'Town', right? Like... T... Tr... Traverse Town? No, that's not right... It was a time of day, right? Noon Town? Midnight Town? No, I remember now! Twilight Town, wasn't it?" Axel said.  
"Yeah, I think so," I said.  
"Hey, Roxas- see if you can find it with your GPS app on your phone," Axel said.  
"Can't have my phone on," Roxas replied.  
"Why not?" Axel asked.  
"My mom doesn't trust me, so she can track me with my phone. If I turn it on, she'll know where we are."  
"Shit," Axel commented under his breath. "I hope you don't get mad, but you do realize that your mom's a bitch, right?" he told Roxas. Roxas scowled.  
"Yeah, but you didn't have to say it out loud," he muttered.  
"I'm sorry, but someone had to say it," Axel insisted, the corner of his mouth twitching up despite how upset he was.  
"You just had to be that one, didn't you?" Roxas asked.  
"Like I said: someone had to say it, and I know Nams here isn't one for swearing," he said, putting his hand on top of my head and ruffling my hair. He reached back into the back and patted Roxas's knee.  
"You can forgive me, right, Nibbler?" he asked, smiling humorously. Roxas's face turned to surprise and became bright red. I looked back to Axel.  
"What does that...?" I asked. That's when I noticed a bruise in the shape of a 'c' on the side of Axel's neck. I figured to drop it- I didn't want to know.  
"Oh, it just mean Backseat here is a biter. That's all," Axel said, eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.  
"Hmph. My neck hurts because of you, Tentacles!" Roxas retorted. Now Axel was the one with a sheepish face.  
"Why...?" I asked. "Forget it," I mumbled a split second later.  
"Oh, because tentacles have suckers on them. I'm sore all over because he gave me so many hickies!" Roxas said, pulling the collar of his shirt to the side. I counted seven on that side alone.  
"Don't act all fussy- you were begging for more afterwards," Axel said, smiling impishly.  
"Axel! Naminé is right there!" Roxas said, flushing crimson again.  
"So? It's not like she's gonna say anything to anybody."  
"It's still embarrassing!"  
"Why? She probably heard sex stories from her little girlfriends. Besides, girls dig yaoi."  
"What? What the hell is yaoi?" Roxas asked.  
"I don't have any girlfriends..." I mumbled.  
"Yaoi is guy on guy relationships," Axel replied.  
"How the hell would you know that?" Roxas asked.  
"I've Binged it many a time. The doujinshu is always the best," Axel said.  
"What is jou-din... Whatever! What is that?"  
"Comics of, well, you can only imagine how dirty it gets," Axel said, smile growing.  
"You Bing guy on guy porn comics?"  
"Sure. Why not?"  
"I don't know, because it's WEIRD."  
"I only did it to have something to do... You know, watching you from a distance gets really stressing, if you know what I mean. I was just using it as a method of release."  
"Axel!"  
"FYI- it was nowhere near as hot as you were," Axel said, grinning widely.  
"Axel! Note female presence in the car!" Roxas said through his teeth.  
"You're too modest, Squealer. And before you ask, Roxas is a noisy little fellow in there. Especially when I press this one spot inside his-"  
"Axel! That's enough! Please, stop talking!" Roxas begged.  
"Alright, then. If you want me to stop filling in Barbie here, I will."  
"Barbie?" Roxas and I asked at the same time.  
"Yeah. She's one of those perfectly filled out girls, like a doll. And the blonde hair and blue eyes? Living Barbie doll. We are just delivering her to her Ken, and I was just merely trying to keep her entertained. But since you said so, I'll quit talking." I just sat there astonished he would say something like that. I knew Roxas would NOT be happy that he said something like that. Roxas was quiet for a minute.  
"Hmm... I see it now that you mention it, actually," Roxas said thoughtfully.  
"What?!" I asked.  
"Yeah. You look like a young, living Barbie," he said.  
"And cute. Naminé has that young girl face, but the Barbie body. If I liked girls instead, I'd probably be all over her," Axel said. "But I chose Barbie's gay best friend, instead. And I like my decision," he said, still smiling.  
"Axel, you're still talking," Roxas pointed out.  
"Oh- sorry," Axel said. Then he pretended to lock his lips and slip the key into his pocket. We drove another five minutes when Axel groaned.  
"It's too damn quiet," he whined.  
"I'd prefer it this way because I know if YOU start talking again it's just going to run back to me in the bedroom," Roxas said. Axel just banged his forehead on the steering wheel boredly and sat up. Then, he started twitching. And then he started drumming his fingers irritatedly on the steering wheel. So I reached forward and turned on the radio, because Axel obviously couldn't quietly sit still in a car unless there was some sort of noise. A cd came on, instead. The opening music cued me in that it had to have been Screaming Eagles.  
"Take a step, take a walk,  
Down my lane, don't stop to talk  
Don't fill your mouth, with your words  
Fill it up with my- ULTIMATE INTIMACY!"  
I wrinkled my nose at the lyrics. They were pretty fun, I'll admit, but they were just so DIRTY. Axel started singing along, so before I could go on with my thoughts, I had to acknowledge- Axel was a motormouth. He had to have his mouth moving at all times or he wasn't comfortable. So while he sang along to 'Ultimate Intimacy', (much to Roxas's discomfort) I watched the scenery. After the cd had circulated its fifteen tracks and was on the fifth one again, Axel had to stop for gas. He sent Roxas and I inside with forty dollars, half of it for gas. He told us to do whatever with the rest. Roxas and I walked through the few isles, picking out chips and drinks and candy. We went to the register, paid for the gas and while we were buying all the snacks we had picked out, our attention turned to the television above the door.  
"Here we are live at the E-Z Rest Motel where it was reported that Axel and his hostages, Naminé and Roxas, were last seen this morning at about six thirty..." Upon hearing that, Roxas and I grabbed what we bought and ran back to the car, Axel getting the gist of our freak out. He pumped the gas as quickly as possible, and Roxas brought out something else.  
"Here, Axel," he said, handing him a folded piece of paper.  
"What's this?" Axel asked, beginning to unfold it.  
"A road map," Roxas said as Axel revealed it. There it was, a map of the continent with the biggest towns listed. And in the far east, Twilight Town. Axel stared a minute.  
"Okay, we're good, let's go!" Axel said, putting the map away. Then we began to drive again.  
"So back to he subject of Baby foot here," Axel said.  
"Ugh!" Roxas groaned. The rest of the way, Axel would tease Roxas about his bedroom antics, we stopped at motels twice more, and at both I would give Axel and Roxas an hour to be alone. Axel would come look for me afterward and bring me back to the room where we would find Roxas asleep, and then we circulated on a shower schedule. Me, then Axel, then Roxas if and when he would wake up. The last leg of the way, I fell asleep while Axel sang along to the Screaming Eagles cd again. When I woke up, I noticed the familiar scenery of part of the heart of Twilight Town. It was night time, and I saw someone familiar stepping out of an apartment.  
It was him.  
"Naminé," I heard Axel say. Someone was shaking my shoulder.  
"Huh?" I asked, and opened my eyes. We were in a parking lot. Next to a motel. I sighed. I went into the hotel, lay claim on a bed and went to sleep. Axel and Roxas didn't mind. After a while, some flashing woke me up, and the lights in the room was still on. I realized that there had to be cops in the parking lot. I was on the bed closest to the window, and the light on in the opposite side of the room. I was facing the window, and the flash of red and blue set me off immediately. My eyes popped open. I sat up, hearing a strained gasping from the other side of the room. I turned around to alert the boys, and immediately regretted it. I saw Roxas, clutching the sheets, biting into a rolled up shirt to muffle noise, only wearing a blue t-shirt, legs raised and propped on Axel's shoulders. Axel himself had his head between his legs, mouth over Roxas's privates, probably causing Roxas to make those noises. Axel was shirtless, only wearing his black skinny jeans. Roxas and Axel looked at me immediately.  
"Oh, shit!" Axel said upon raising his head while my eyes shot to the ceiling. "I'm so sorry, Nams- we thought you'd be out for a while!"  
"Are you aware there are policemen outside?!" I asked, still staring at the ceiling and swiveling my head to look out the window.  
"What?!" Roxas asked. Axel ran to the window. I saw his pants were undone, but there wasn't anything exposed. Thank goodness. He looked outside.  
"They found us!" he hissed. "Everyone pack up- we have five minutes!" He turned around, and I don't even want to know what he wiped from the corner of his mouth with his thumb. I gathered up everything I could and ran into the bathroom. There was a window! I cheered internally.  
"There's a window- Roxas can fit through, so you can, Axel," I said. I opened the window, needing some help getting it, and we slid Axel out first. Like a cat, he landed on his feet. We dropped one bag, then the other. Roxas hopped out, and fell on his rear, despite Axel's effort to pervent it. When I jumped out, I heard a knocking on the door. I landed in Axel's arms, and he set me on my feet. We ran into the brush. We moved around to the bushes closer to the car. It was less than three yards away, and I knew Axel always had the doors unlocked because we all feared this.  
"I think we got their room! Let's get up here!" an officer yelled from the balcony. Our door, even. All the officers ran up the stairs. As soon as we were sure they were facing the room with drawn curtains, we ran for the car. We jumped in, entry being quick due to- unlocked doors. Yay!  
"Hang on," Axel said, starting it and pulling out, every cop outside the busted door turning their heads. We sped out of the parking lot, watching in the rearview mirrors as they scattered to their cars. We were a few yards away from the parking lot when there was a dirt road in a cluster of trees.  
"Pull into the trees!" I commanded. Axel immediately steered into the trees, stirring up dirt on the road. Axel cut the ignition, putting us in darkness. We were in the trees, parked behind a wall of brush. They wouldn't see the dark car- but we would see their lights when they passed. Sure enough, two minutes later, all six cop cars drove past. We waited a few minutes before Axel carefully pulled out of the woods. He couldn't use head or taillights- they'd see it. We got out safely, and we went back to the highway. We drove a while before we turned our lights on.  
"So that's it... No more motels. That was a really close call," I said. I was no longer tired.  
"We need to keep up with the story. We will just go into a McDonald's with a tv," Axel said. So we went in at six in the morning and looked at the tv. Apparently, they lost us. For now. But the worst part? They were scanning our last room for 'details'. It was a nice way of saying 'DNA testing for possible rapist'. When we tuned in at ten at night when we were closer to town, they said they had found saliva and semen in the room. And you could only guess who's they were. Axel and Roxas both turned sheet white when they started interviewing Aunt Larxene about her son's 'rape'.  
"I just can't believe it... My poor little boy's innocence!" she sobbed. She was totally hamming it up for the camera.  
"How do you feel knowing your daughter is with a rapist?" the news reporter asked. Then held the microphone to my dad.  
"Daddy?!" I squeaked.  
"It's been bad before, but this? Things just keep getting worse, and I promise I'll bring her home!" he vowed. Axel pointed discreetly to the kid behind the counter, on the phone looking at us. I nodded and Axel quietly ushered us out, and we continued to drive. We slept in the car that night. When I woke up, we were driving again. We were in a town at dawn.  
"We're here," Axel said. I began to question what I was doing. I saw a silvery haired guy and a dirty blonde guy walking on the street together, backpacks on their shoulders. The dirty blonde guy had a faux hawk, and the silvery haired guy had hair covering half his face. The dirty blonde guy looked really upset. He looked at the road. Into the car. And straight at me. His lips formed a word. My name? How did this guy know me? Do I know him? And I came a long way, but...

Why am I here?

_(note: there is a threequel to this sequel, so if you would like that just ask for it and I will post it. this story had some akuroku fanservice to it, so I hope that you enjoyed it. Axel and Roxas were there for moral support and whatnot so this wasn't supposed to be an akuroku story- its just going through Namine's adventure with her cousin and his lover... though some parts were pretty awkward for Namine...)_


End file.
